Central Expressway (Dallas)

Central Expressway (Dallas)
US 75.svg
Central Expressway at Fitzhugh Avenue

Central Expressway is a north–south highway in Dallas, Texas (USA) and surrounding areas.

Contents

North Central Expressway

The best-known section is the North Central Expressway, a name for a freeway section of U.S. Highway 75 between downtown Dallas and McKinney, Texas. The southern terminus is at an intersection with "hidden" Interstate 345 (signed as Interstate 45) and Woodall Rodgers Expressway.[1]

South of US 75's terminus, North Central Expressway briefly continues south in the median of I-345, then becomes a surface street through the eastern side of downtown Dallas. The surface street section south of Pearl Street was renamed for César Chávez in April, 2010[2].

The North Central Expressway is near high-income neighborhoods and enclave cities such as Highland Park and University Park. The freeway is also adjacent to popular districts including Uptown, Cityplace, Lower Greenville, NorthPark Center, and the Telecom Corridor. Near the intersection of Central Expressway and Mockingbird Lane is Southern Methodist University, and Mockingbird Station.

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail system has a tunnel underneath the North Central Expressway between downtown Dallas and Mockingbird Station.

History

The Central project was first proposed by Dallas City Planner George E. Kessler in 1911, who suggested that the city buy the right of way of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad (H&TC) to remove the railway tracks and construct a Central Boulevard (later renamed the Central Expressway project) in their place. The Central project became a real project in the 1920's (with first mention in The Dallas Morning News in December 1924), but resistance from the Southern Pacific railroad company proved to be a serious obstacle that delayed the project for decades. Southern Pacific opposed the use of their railroad's right of way to construct the Central Expressway, and it was this opposition and lobbying of political forces that caused the significant delays in the construction to the early 1950s.[3]

Parts of the North Central Expressway were opened in 1950. The route from Downtown to Mockingbird Lane was fully functional by the end of 1952, and the whole route to Campbell Road in Richardson was opened for traffic in August 1956. By the time the Central Expressway opened for traffic, North Dallas and Richardson had already expanded beyond expectations, and the new highway was already hopelessly inadequate by the 1960s. The Expressway did not reach the city of Anna and the northern Collin County line until late 1969 or early 1970.

Reconstruction

Prior to reconstruction, the North Central Expressway was considered to be one of the most poorly designed freeways in the nation.[4][5] Though initially an engineering marvel as Dallas's first freeway when it opened to traffic in 1950, the explosive growth that soon hit north Dallas and the nearby suburbs quickly overwhelmed its design and capacity. By the 1980s, the four-lane freeway had acquired a reputation for severe rush-hour traffic jams.

In the early 1980s, the TxDOT floated plans to build an elevated structure above the existing freeway[citation needed]. After considerable study and debate, elevated structures were eliminated. Construction started in 1992 and was finally completed in November 1999. Total reconstruction cost was around $600 million.

Current state

The facility has 8 continuous general-purpose lanes from downtown Dallas to Legacy Drive in Plano except for a six-lane segment where it passes under Interstate 635 (two additional lanes are present but are only entrance ramps/exit ramps for Forest Lane and Midpark Road). For the six miles (10 km) north of downtown Dallas, the freeway lies more than 30 feet (9.1 m) below adjacent and partially cantilevered frontage roads.

Aesthetic treatment

The freeway's architecturally distinctive design distinguishes it as one of the nation's most attractive urban freeways. Every structure and element along the highway right-of-way was given aesthetic attention during the design phase. Support columns for overpasses and bridges have been designed to be as visually appealing as possible. The beige concrete columns which form the support structure for the retaining walls contrast with the brown, textured infill panels of the walls to create a multicolored and articulated edge to the freeway. Two million square feet[citation needed] of these walls along the nine mile (14 km)-long project distinguishes the freeway.

Freedman's Cemetery

Central Expressway's 1940s construction methods would come to represent inadequacies of both civil engineering and social engineering. The southern end of North Central Expressway passed through a historic African-American neighborhood, displacing 1,500 black residents. But the full scale of the injustice was not revealed until preparations began for the 1990s expansion of the route. The living weren't the only ones displaced; a quarter of the 4-acre (16,000 m2) Freedman's Cemetery, with graves dating back to Emancipation, had been paved over. Archeological excavations uncovered the remains of over 1,100 men, women, and children under existing and proposed roadways. After their reburial, the site was turned into a memorial to the working-class black residents of the area, which after the expressways were built, became the upscale Uptown Dallas neighborhood.[6]

South Central Expressway

From south of Main Street and its crossing under the Interstate 45 overhead in downtown Dallas, Central Expressway became the South Central Expressway. The road met Interstate 30 at a three-level interchange and continued south as a surface road down to I-45. This section was renamed in honor of César Chávez in April, 2010[7]. Upon crossing under I-45, it becomes U.S. Highway 175 and is signed both as South Central Expressway and S.M. Wright Freeway (named for a local minister). Where US 175 turns off to the east, the road continues south as State Highway 310; the S.M. Wright Freeway name ends at Loop 12, past the end of freeway standards. The South Central Expressway continues past a partial interchange with Interstate 20 to end at a merge with I-45 north of Hutchins. This section through and south of downtown mainly serves local traffic. I-45 was built roughly parallel to it. However, the parallel section of I-45 north of the Trinity River is completely elevated, and is often difficult to traverse when ice storms hit Dallas (about once per year); thus, South Central often takes over some of the traffic during this time.

Future changes

The US 175 section is due to be rerouted in the future, off South Central/S.M. Wright onto a new alignment, further extending C.F. Hawn Freeway west to I-45; it has not been reported whether or not the State Highway 310 numbering would replace US 175's when it is rerouted. Meanwhile, TxDOT is preparing to redesign the portion of South Central/S.M. Wright (between I-45 and US 175's current east turn) into a surface-street boulevard, and has held meetings with local residents about the project. Many have differences of opinion; some want a 4-lane arrangement, others want 6 lanes. Some even think TxDOT is to blame for dividing the surrounding neighborhood. Unfortunately, there is not current funding for the project, and even if there were, it would be 2015 at the earliest before US 175's rerouting could be finished [8][9][10].

Exit list

South Central Expressway

County Location Destinations Notes
Dallas Dallas Lamar Street northbound exit and southbound entrance
Municipal Avenue; Lamar Street northbound exit and entrance
Haven Street southbound exit and entrance
US 175.svg U.S. Highway 175 east - Kaufman no southbound entrance
Hatcher Street no northbound exit
Pine Street
Metropolitan Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue northbound exit and southbound entrance
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard northbound exit only
I-45.svg Interstate Highway 45 to U.S. Highway 75 - McKinney northbound exit and southbound entrance
Good-Latimer Expressway northbound exit and southbound entrance

At this point South Central Expressway becomes a surface road through Downtown Dallas.

North Central Expressway

North Central Expressway is the only highway in Texas to use a consecutive-numbering system as opposed to a mile marker system. The numbering system south of I-635 changed drastically when several exits were consolidated; north of I-635 the system remained the same. When US 75 was rerouted west of Sherman and Denison, additional exits took the next available numbers.

North of McKinney, US 75 is not referred to as Central Expressway, giving way to other names such as Collins Freeway (Howe) and Sam Rayburn Freeway (Sherman).

County Location # Destinations Notes
Dallas Dallas Old
Bryan Street; Good-Latimer Expressway southbound exit and northbound entrance
I-345.svg Interstate Highway 45 south - Houston (Interstate Highway 345 south) southbound exit and northbound entrance
285 Ross Avenue southbound exit only; exit no. corresponds to I-45
1A Texas Spur 366.svg to Interstate Highway 35E - Denton; Waco (Spur 366 west) southbound exit and northbound entrance; northbound where I-45 becomes US 75, exit 286; no. corresponds to I-45 north
1 (Hall Street)
2 (Lemmon Avenue)
3 1B Haskell Avenue; Blackburn Street; Fitzhugh Avenue; Lemmon Avenue
4 (Fitzhugh Avenue)
5 2 Knox Street; Henderson Avenue; Monticello Avenue; Fitzhugh Avenue
6 (Monticello Avenue)
7 (McCommas Boulevard)
8 3 Mockingbird Lane; University Boulevard; Monticello Avenue
9 (Yale Boulevard)
10 (University Boulevard)
11 4A Lovers Lane; Southwestern Boulevard; University Boulevard exit 4 southbound
12 (Southwestern Boulevard)
13 4B Caruth Haven Lane southbound exit is combined with 5A
14-15 5A Texas Loop 12.svg Loop 12 - Caruth Haven Lane
16 5B Northpark Boulevard; Park Lane
17 6 Walnut Hill Lane; Meadow Road
18 (Meadow Road)
19 7 Royal Lane; Meadow Road
20A 8A Forest Lane exit 20-20A southbound
20B 8B Coit Road northbound exit and southbound entrance
20B Frontage Road northbound exit only
21 I-635.svg Interstate Highway 635
20A Churchill Way southbound exit and northbound entrance
22 Midpark Road
Richardson 23 Spring Valley Road
24 Belt Line Road; Main Street
25 Arapaho Road
26 Campbell Road northbound exit and southbound entrance
27A Galatyn Parkway; Renner Road; Campbell Road exit 26 southbound
Collin 27 Renner Road southbound exit and northbound entrance
28A Plano Parkway
28B President George Bush Turnpike
Plano 29 15th Street (former FM 544) northbound exit and southbound entrance
29A Park Boulevard; 15th Street
30 Parker Road
30A Frontage Road southbound exit only
31 Spring Creek Parkway



32 Legacy Drive
32A Frontage Road northbound exit and southbound exit
Allen 33 Bethany Drive
34 McDermott Drive (former FM 2170)
35 Allen Drive northbound exit and southbound entrance
36 Exchange Parkway
37 Texas FM 2786.svg Farm to Market Road 2786 - Stacy Road
38 Ridgeview Drive
38A Texas 121.svgTexas Spur 399.svg State Highway 121 south; to State Highway 5 - Fort Worth (Spur 399; former Farm to Market Road 720) SH 121 joins northbound and leaves southbound
McKinney 39 Eldorado Parkway
40A Texas FM 3038.svgTexas Spur 359.svg Farm to Market Road 3038; Spur 359 - Louisiana Street; Virginia Parkway
40B White Avenue northbound exit and southbound entrance
41 US 380.svg U.S. Highway 380 - Greenville; Denton
42 Wilmeth Road
43 Texas FM 543.svg Farm to Market Road 543 - Weston Road
44 Telephone Road; Davis Road
45 Texas 121.svg State Highway 121 north - Bonham SH 121 joins southbound and leaves northbound
Melissa 46 Melissa Road
47 Throckmorton Road; Foster Crossing Road
Anna 48 Texas FM 455.svg Farm to Market Road 455 - Anna-Weston Road
49 Mantua Road
50 County Line Road
Grayson Van Alstyne 51 Texas FM 121.svg Farm to Market Road 121 - Van Alstyne due to confusion between this exit and State Highway 121 (a few miles to the south, which leads to DFW Airport), southbound highway signs are marked "DFW TRAFFIC DO NOT EXIT"
52 Farmington Road
Howe 53 Texas Spur 381.svg Spur 381 - Howe
54 Texas FM 902.svgTexas 5.svg Farm to Market Road 902; State Highway 5
Sherman 55A Frontage Road southbound exit and entrance
55 Frontage Road
56 Texas FM 1417.svg Farm to Market Road 1417
56A South Travis Street northbound exit and southbound entrance
56B Frontage Road northbound exit only
57 Park Street; Center Street
58 Texas 56.svg State Highway 56 - Lamar Street; Houston Street Lamar Street is one way eastbound; Houston Street is one way westbound
59 Washington Street no southbound entrance
60 Texas FM 131.svg Farm to Market Road 131 - Travis Street; Taylor Street
61 Texas 91.svg State Highway 91 north — Texoma Parkway no southbound exit
62 Lamberth Road northbound exit and southbound entrance
63 US 82.svg U.S. Highway 82 - Bonham; Gainesville
64 Loy Lake Road; Fallon Drive
65 Texas FM 691.svg Farm to Market Road 691 - Grayson County Airport; Grayson County Junior College
Denison 66 Texas Spur 503.svg Spur 503 - Denison
67 Loy Lake Road
68 Crawford Street Road
69 Texas FM 120.svg Farm to Market Road 120 - Pottsboro; Lake Texoma
70 Texas FM 84.svg Farm to Market Road 84
71 Randell Lake Road
72 Texas 91.svg State Highway 91
73 US 69.svg U.S. Highway 69 south - Greenville; Denison US 69 joins northbound and leaves southbound
74 Texas Travel Info Center

Images of Central Expressway

References

  1. ^ www.interstate-guide.com
  2. ^ Cesar Chavez Street Signs Debuted Today At City Hall, Along Cesar Chavez Blvd., Unfair Park blog, Dallas Observer, Patrick Michels--writer, April 9, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
  3. ^ VickeryPlace.com: archive of newspaper clippings on the History of Central Expressway
  4. ^ Texasfreeway.com - Photos from after renovation
  5. ^ Texasfreeway.com - Historic photos
  6. ^ http://www.projectpast.org/jcbrandon/papers/dallas2004.asp
  7. ^ Cesar Chavez Street Signs Debuted Today At City Hall, Along Cesar Chavez Blvd., Unfair Park blog, Dallas Observer, Patrick Michels--writer, April 9, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
  8. ^ TxDOT Dazzles Southern Dallas With Plans to Straighten Out "Statistically Dangerous Curve" on S.M. Wright, Dallas Observer "Unfair Park" Blog, Daniel Rodrigue--writer, March 31, 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
  9. ^ SMWrightProject.org, Halff Associates, Inc. Retrieved 2010-05-22
  10. ^ Some say fix for S.M. Wright Freeway isn't enough, Dallas Morning News, Michael A. Lindenburger--writer, May 16, 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-22.

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